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Hlammach
City of Impiltur Who Rules: Lords Helimbraun (LG half-elf male cleric 5/paladin 11 of Torm), Soargilm (LG human Damaran male cleric 9/paladin 7 of Ilmater) and Engarth (LG human Damaran male ranger 2/paladin 9 of Torm/triadic knight 7) of the Council of Lords. Who Really Rules: The three Lords of Imphras II resident in the city make all major decisions affecting it but day-to-day decision-making is delegated to the Royal Constable Tiringar Felnim (LG human Damaran male paladin 8) and the Royal Herald Imdras Fairfollow (LG human Damaran male cleric 6 of Deneir). Population: 45,000 (registered) rising to 55,000 in the warmer months. Major Products: (Trade, moneylending), quarried stone, arms, armor, ships and hardware of all sorts. Armed Forces: A garrison made up of a Shield of the Warsword (2,000 fighters) led by Vigilar Crelaun Evenoak (LN human Damaran male fighter 11); a force of some 20 Warwand wizards led by the wizard Barimbrar (NG human Damaran male wizard 10) and the Blackhelms, the local constabulary numbering another 500 “cudgels” (as they are known locally due to the black, oaken clubs they wield). Notable Mages: Hlammach is home to several wizards of renown, for the study of the Art has always flourished here since the time of Queen Ilmara. She resided near Hlammach for much of her reign at Blackrock Castle, west of the city, and supported the establishment of at least three schools of wizardry in her lifetime: - Daratha “the Direstave” Anarletar (NG human Damaran female transmuter 5), a homely but personable wizard “for hire”, happy to join adventuring groups for short-term, local adventures. - Halandraun Immerfall (CG human Damaran wizard 9), a balding, paunchy, always red-faced wizard who specialises in crafting potions of hill giant strength and is known to pay well for the fresh blood and sweat of these creatures. - “Lady” Jarlie Delbross (CN human Chondathan female sorceror 14), a stunningly beautiful, dusky-skinned business owner who owns The Pearl Salon and Perfumery, the most well-regarded shop to obtain cosmetics, intimate apparel and costume jewelry in Hlammach. She is also known to secretly deal in minor poisons and alchemical sexual stimulants. - Pelathyon Hawkryn (N human Damaran male wizard 11), founder of the wizard school at Moonstone Tower, and proponent of “gem magic” in all its forms He is secretly a Puirsuivant Arcane (see FOR9 Secrets of the Magister). - Shoval of the Many Thunders (N human Damaran male evoker 16), a mumbling but quick-thinking wizard of gruff mien, who often adventures into the Earthspur Mountains accompanied by his three, beautiful sister apprentices, Alantha, Ailitha and Andarla who he rescued as infants from orcs raiders in his youth. He does not take on other apprentices but is known to occasionally sell spell scrolls. - Taragorm Northmarr (LN human Damaran male wizard 18), a reclusive archmage who tutors select students for hefty fees. He is rumoured to keep a dragon in stasis beneath his abode, the Tower Taragorm in the city’s inner ring, and to conduct experiments to control and dominate such creatures. He is known to pay well for dragon blood and scales. - Xarnaula “the Moonmistress” (N moon elf female wizard 17), a former mercenary mage who is famous for her destruction of the lich Marandrar of Gault (a small, now-deserted island of Altumbel said to be infested with all manner of undead and to hide at least two stolen treasuries of lost, minor realms of the Wizard’s Reach) and defeat of Larath Ormdrar of the Zhentarim in a formal mage duel at Harblar’s Hollow, north of the city, a scant three winters ago. Xarnaula is seldom present in Hlammach, often travelling to other regions of the Realms and some whisper, to fabled Evermeet. She is known to love vintage elverquisst. Notable Churches: - The Hall of Scribes, temple to Deneir; High Scrivener Garelaun Brondaer (LN human Damaran male cleric 16 of Deneir); 12 priests and 40 followers. Does a brisk trade in parchment sales and much coin is paid for the limning skill of Priest Illuminator Faerlaun, considered to be one of the most talented artists in the Easting Reach. - The Fastness of Pentitence, temple to Ilmater; Revered Father Boldor Harrowbrace (LG male Damaran cleric 16 of Ilmater); 20 priests, 60 followers. - Troubador Tower, temple to Milil; Prior of Song Elarnon Leafwhisper (NG half-elf male bard 5/cleric 12 of Milil); 8 priests, 25 followers. This temple is known to hire out players and singers for revels, lead by the talented Elarnon himself. - The Chapel of Allure, temple to Sune; Lovemistress Eldaera Eversun (CG female Damaran cleric 12 of Sune); 6 priests, 20 followers. - The Bower of Fortune, temple to Tymora; Lady of Fortune Naerlatha Thistledorn (NG female Damaran cleric 14 of Tymora; 10 priests, 30 followers. This sprawling temple is known to house adventurers for short periods and to allow access (for stiff fees) to an archive of copied “treasure maps” of the lands of the Inner Sea. Cynical observers note that the treasure these maps lead to is long gone, but every third season or so word goes out that another adventuring company has unravelled the secrets of one of the Bower’s maps and plundered a lost fortune. - The Fortress of Faith, temple to Tyr; Knight Commander Farlas Omberdawn (LG human Damaran male paladin 4/cleric 9 of Tyr); 15 priests, 50 followers. This temple also doubles as the administrative centre for the Knights of Imphras II in Hlammach, with Farlas being a Shrikelord of the Order. Notable Rogues’ and Thieves’ Guilds: None known. As with most major population centres of Impiltur, the Lords of Imphras II do not tolerate organised thievery in Hlammach. Equipment Shops: Full. Adventurer’s Quarters: Hlammach has many small inns dotted throughout the city but most are located in the Outer Ring. Adventurers are a common site in the city given the relative proximity of the fabled Citadel of Conjurers and the Hill of Tombs. The most popular are: - The Leaping Dolphin (rowdy and spartan but good/cheap); - Parlo’s Parlour (good/moderate); - The Sword and Shield (popular with mercenaries and Swordpoints: fair/moderate); - Tramar’s Taproom (“The Tap”), a brightly lit inn and tavern located in the Inner Ring that is well known for its superior provender (excellent/expensive); - The Winged Wizard (known to house at least three, minor sages and loremasters: good/moderate). Important Characters: - Bramlin “the Wolf” (N human Damaran male ranger 8), a tall, seldom-speaking hunter who is considered to know the tracks and trails of the Earthfast Mountain foothills better than any man alive. Many whisper that he is a friend to the dwarves of the mountains and a bloodbrother to at least two hidden clans located there. - Felethaun Windever (LN human Damaran male wizard 2), the city’s Royal Coinmaster (tax collector) and in charge of the Royal Mint. - Joeyla “the Stout” (NG human Damaran female wizard 2, S: monsters and demonology), a minor sage whose expertise relates to monsters and creatures of the lower planes. She resides at the Winged Wizard. - Larnoss Calantar (CN human Tethyrian male thief 3/fighter 10), a bastard son of the Calantar noble family in Cormyr who has brazenly taken the family name as his own. He has been involved in three ‘duels to the death’ in the half year he has been residing in the city and it is whispered that he is in truth a clever assassin that provokes his targets by impugning their honour and courage. - Pelingrar Dornsunder, (NG human Damaran male expert 8, S: religion, theology and archeology), the foremost sage of the city and deferred to by the Lords on questions of theological history and religion, much to the chagrin of various faiths of the kingdom. - Reldrar Bornold (CG human Damaran male ranger 4), representative of the Bear and Boar, Three Horns and Redpeak thaedar in the Uplands and a canny trader and merchant. He is constantly recruiting caravan guards for the steady stream of wagons that he oversees to and from the city and his clients. - Sabasha “the Serpent” (N human Damaran female thief 14), the premier escort at the exclusive Five Silks festhall, “the Serpent” is secretly an accomplished thief responsible for the most brazen and lucrative thefts in the city’s recent history. - Xan Chi (LN human Shou monk 9), a squat, rarely-speaking teacher of unarmed combat who does lucrative business among the female nobles of the city. He has informal ties with the Nine Golden Swords in Telflamm. Important Features in Town: Hlammach is a sprawling settlement that has outgrown its city walls in the last century. The older part of the city is roughly circular and known as the Inner Ring and encircled by high stone walls and barbican gates at the points of the compass. These gates are simply known as the Northgate, Eastgate, Southgate and Westgate. The Inner Ring contains the Royal Mint, established there by King Lashilmbrar in 1230 DR, and the Shining Tower, the seat of rule for the Lords of Imphras II and the Royal Constable and Royal Herald. The most prominent nobles familes of Hlammach, chiefly the Caerdals, Eirlthauns and Relindars, also reside in the Inner Ring. The sprawling buildings of the Outer Ring extend for several miles to the north, east and west of the city. They are unprotected in that they do not have the security of encircling stone walls, but the city maintains three “redoubts”, large earth and log palisades containing many catapults and ballistae, at the outskirts of the city where much of the Warsword stationed at Hlammach is quartered. The docks of the city are immediately to the south of the Inner Ring and protected by curtain walls on either side that extend to the water. Hlammach sees much sea traffic from Altumbel and Aglarond as its port taxes are cheaper than those of Lyrabar and dock facilities superior to those of Dilpur. They also serve as the home for two major shipbuilding concerns, Corbaun’s Carracks and Seaoak Sails and Spars, that do sterling work and are popular throughout the Easting Reach. The stone buildings of the Inner Ring are notable for being covered in Salt Moss, which isn’t a moss at all but rather a vivid red lichen that is used locally in dyemaking. The visual effect of the Salt Moss is enhanced by the fact that many of the major buildings of the city are made of a particularly lustrous black marble (known as “blackrock” to the locals) which is quarried to the west of the city proper. Blackrock is a popular building material in Impiltur and is shipped to the Vilhon Reach and the Moonsea. The inner sanctum of the rebuilt temple of Bane in Zhentil Keep was built from blackrock as is the outer façade of the dread Citadel of Conjurers. The streets of Hlammach in the Inner Ring are concentric flagstone alternating between three and two lance throughfares (three lances end to end or two lances end to end wide – i.e. (30 or 20 feet) as they radiate outward from “the Boss” (the central area of the Inner Ring where the Royal Mint and the Shining Tower are located). Black slate roofs predominate in this area. In the Outer Ring, timber is a more widely used building material and slate roofs quickly give way to thatch and timber. Hlammach is also famous for its doors and windows, or more correctly how colourful they are. Most are painted in bright colours with yellows and oranges predominating. One other notable feature of Hlammach is the presence of Graycliffs, a small island just south of the city proper. Graycliffs is a place that can only be visited with the express consent of the Council of Lords or the Queen-Regent for it functions as a prison for the most dangerous and prominent wrongdoers in Impiltur. The guards of Graycliffs are gathered into the Whiteshield Company, a monastic order of Tyrran paladins and clergy that exists no where else in the kingdom. They are tasked with guarding the residents of Graycliffs, who include such notables as Maerthrar “the Tainted” Forgecrown, the sorceror Immiltar and the tiefling twins Caradrath and Margaur, known in their time as the “Sons of Orcus”. Graycliffs is known to have mulitple magical wards and barriers preventing scrying and translocation magic, as well as areas of dead magic where select prisoners are kept. Local Lore: Human settlement at the site of Hlammach has been continuous since the waning days of the Narfelli empire. Slave workers of Narfell built quarries in the surrounding area to assist in the building of the Citadel of Conjurers to the north and with the fall of that empire many of the workers remained there, turning their hand to agriculture and fishing. In the Year of Forgotten Smiles (-93 DR) the Nar warrior Nurith established the hold of Arnafel there and while considered a cruel and tyrannical lord, he protected the local populace from other raiding Nar tribes, orcs, hobgoblins and the foul demon legacy of Narfell. Arnafel came into conflict with Impiltur in the Year of Broached Gates (-22 DR) when Ornrath Mirandor, younger brother of the reigning King Inrath II, died in mysterious cicumstances revolving around a skillfully placed stilletto, a beautiful courtesan and ten-weight of the herb morilth (then as now a rare and much desired commodity for it's euphoric effects and ability to be transformed into an insidious inhaled poison when steeped in a little known but simple alchemical reagent). Whilst Ornrath was no goodson of Tyr, his brother demanded redress from Arnafel in the form of tombgold (a term similar to our real world 'weregild') and advantageous trade concessions that Rurgith, grandson of Nurith, dismissed out of hand. It's likely that the canny Inrath used his brother's death as an opportunity to take action against Arnafel (for there was no great love between them) and Impiltur's response was swift and brutal. Within a tenday the Anarth had been raised (Impiltur's then-version of an army which was really a raising of the realm's male adult population into a rough militia) and Inrath marched at its head surrounded by his personal guard who were the true steel of the Realms. Rurgith marched to meet him at the head of his own army and the two forces clashed without result at Greenstone, a small thorp that exists to this day on the outskirts of present-day Hlammach. It was then that Inrath's true gambit was revealed as the Stonesword mercenary company out of the Vilhon led by Garyann Obarskyr sailed into Arnafel's harbour putting the token resistance to the sword and acting as the hammer to Inrath's anvil when battle between the two realms resumed the next day. An unsuspecting Rurgith was slain in the fight and Inrath marched into Arnafel as a conqueror that evening, pronouncing that it would henceforth be named Hlammach for the brave soldier who saved his king's life in the battle and was ennobled on the field, forming House Suntowers. Local lore holds that Rurgith’s family hid much wealth in the last hours before the fall of their lord for records show that King Inrath was sorely disappointed with the treasure obtained in the sack of Arnafel. Sages scoff at such claims asserting that Arnafel was a poor holding, possessing little in the way of gold or other riches. Locals point to the recent discovery of a hidden cellar underneath a tallhouse owned by the merchant Helembrar Milltower that contained five golden idols to some unknown deity and a small chest of gems, including an emerald as large as a hen’s egg. It is known that the Lamathars, a minor noble family based in Hlammach has recently been buying up real estate in the southwestern quadrant of the Inner Ring and rumours abound that they have stumbled upon one or more of Rurgith’s treasure caches. Category:Large cities Category:Settlements in Impiltur